The Experience Leaders making a difference during COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented and the road map for the year ahead has been ripped up. What matters is how you act in the here and now.

AKT’s partner Qualtrics highlights some of the leading examples of brands adapting to the situation by providing experiences that make a difference to their customers and employees at this time. 

Right now, customer needs are changing every day. People are needing to change the way they shop, how they can travel, where they eat and how they stay in contact with loved ones. In short, our priorities have shifted and no one knows for how long. How you live up to your brand values right now, both internally and externally, will have a lasting impact on your company.

These times are unprecedented, and we want to help businesses as best we can. Which is why we have created the Customer Confidence Pulse – a free tool, available to all, that will help you to understand and meet your customer needs at this time.

We’re highlighting some of the companies that have adapted to meet new expectations – from employees, customers and their product – ensuring the experiences they provide are valuable at this time. The following examples may be helpful to you or your business too.

Zoom

As businesses, families and schools quickly adjust to remote work, this is easier for some than others. Never before have tools that connect people at scale been so important, so Zoom is trying to make this transition as seamless as possible.

We feel very proud. We’ve seen that what we are doing here, we can contribute a bit to the world – CEO Eric Yuan

What Zoom is doing::

  • Zoom is now free for K-12 schools impacted by Coronavirus, helping to ensure that children can continue learning and remain productive.
  • Zoom has also created additional support resources to help new customers adapt to connecting remotely, and make sure all customers are maximizing the product’s full capabilities. These include daily live demos, webinars, tutorials and FAQs.

Airbnb

Airbnb knows a lot about experiences. Luxury, no-frills, convenience. All over the world. In fact, you could say they have all angles covered. But the current COVID-19 crisis has meant that holidays, work trips and travel in general has had to be put on hold. In an act of leadership, Airbnb has reacted to the situation and taken the decision to help where they can most.

What Airbnb is doing:

  • Airbnb is “partnering with [its] hosts to connect 100,000 healthcare providers, relief workers, and first responders with clean, convenient places to stay.”
  • This will allow them to be “close to their patients — and safely distanced from their own families” if necessary.
  • This is another example of brands engaging with their customer base and creating a platform for people to help. Partners can choose to offer their place for free, but if they can’t, then Airbnb is waiving all Airbnb fees.

Airbnb is a company founded on the value of community,  and what’s impressive about this initiative is that it’s an act of genuine care that comes from the core of what they stand for as a business. For that alone, this act will be remembered by partners and existing and potential customers for the good it was intended.

 

At Qualtrics and AKT, we want to do our bit to help too. It can be daunting to know what to do, and how to do it. Which is why Qualtrics has created the Customer Confidence Pulse to help your business understand how your customers are feeling so you can prioritize where the need is most important, and we at AKT are happy to show you how to utilize it.

These tools are free, and available to every organization.  Click to learn more: Complimentary Customer Confidence Pulse from Qualtrics